One of the most decorated goalkeepers over the last decade has finally had enough.
After being replaced by Thibaut Courtois as the starting goalkeeper at Real Madrid, Keylor Navas has left the Bernabeu for Paris Saint-Germain, the Spanish club confirmed Tuesday morning. Returning in the opposite direction is PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who joins Real Madrid on a one-year loan deal.
After arriving from Levante in 2014, the 32-year-old won a stunning 12 trophies in five seasons at Real Madrid, including three Champions League titles. He made 162 appearances for Los Blancos across all competitions during his time in Madrid, keeping 52 clean sheets and conceding 159 goals, including 32 clean sheets and 101 goals conceded in 104 La Liga appearances.
However, Madrid actively moved to replace him with Courtois in a move criticized by many as harsh on the Costa Rican, who was unfairly blamed for deep-lying defensive issues. With Courtois as starting goalkeeper last season, Madrid conceded 46 league goals in 38 matches, more than they had in any league campaign under Navas’s watch.
The move establishes Navas as the clear number one goalkeeper at PSG, backed up by other new arrivals in Sergio Rico and Marcin Bulka.
The transfer sets up a fascinating - and almost immediate - revenge match as PSG takes on Real Madrid in the opening Champions League group stage match on September 18.
